Monday, September 28, 2015

Cedar
Rapids, Iowa (September 28, 1958)
- Don White won the Midwest’s final IMCA late model stock car event of the
season at Hawkeye Downs Sunday, but not until a check of the official lap sheet
showed a pit stop hadn't cost the Keokuk Komet the lead.

The championship trophy in the
200-lap event had already been presented to White's brother-in-law, Ernie
Derr, also of Keokuk, when IMCA officials discovered White was the actual
winner.

The mix-up was a result of
White’s hurried pit stop on the 60th lap for gas. Promoter Frank Winkley
thought Derr passed White while a field of 30 cars was on a caution flag.

Actually White held nearly a
full lap lead when he pulled into the pit and he returned to the track before
Derr could complete another lap. So unknown to most of the 8,500 fans in
attendance, White was adding to his lead in the final 140 laps in the 2-man
fight.

Derr went the full 200 laps
without a stop.

The IMCA point leader also got
credit for a new world’s record for 100 miles. The clock caught Derr in 1 hour
33 minutes and one second, slightly under the 1957 mark of 1 hour, 33 minutes
and 24 seconds established by Johnny Beauchamp at Hawkeye Downs. White will be
given the 2nd place time as a new record although he had to run
nearly 20 seconds ahead of it with a three-quarters lap lead at the finish.

White's 1958 Ford never trailed
after starting from the pole position with the top time trial of 26.53 seconds.

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Rockford,
Ill. (September 24, 1971) – “At
no time did Dick Trickle have enough power to get around me,” said Bill
Retallick of his victory Sunday by less than a car length in the 200-lap
National Short Track Championship at Rockford Speedway.

“His car was handling a little better, but he seemed to be
trying too hard and would lose it every once in a while.”

Retallick, starting on the outside of the front row, took
the lead on the 18th lap coming out of turn two from Larry O' Brien of Harvard, Ill., who led the first 18 circuits coming from his pole position start. O' Brien would finish 10th.

Retallick did own more than a lap lead over Trickle, who
spun on the back straightaway before the tight battle developed on the 106th
lap when a crash in turn two forced a complete restart.

Dan Prziborowski of Savage, Minn., stopped along the wall to
avoid hitting a spinning Tom Jensen of New Lisbon, Wis., while running second,
but several seconds later was walloped by Ed Hume in the rear. Prziborowski was
towed to the pits where he made miraculous repairs and returned later.

Mike Miller of New Prague, Minn., who took over second after
the crash, was spun out two laps later allowing Trickle, who made up a lap
deficit to grab second. Retallick and Trickle then started their nip-and-tuck
battle to the delight of the 7,200 fans in attendance.

Defending champion Wayne Stallsworth of Denver, Colo.,
failed to finish in the top 20 as did five-time Rockford Speedway track
champion Joe Shear of South Beloit.

As a crowd of 7,200 looked on, Derr, driving in 1969 Dodge
Charger, set an IMCA record for paved half-mile tracks by winning in 1 hour, 16
minutes, and 38.66 seconds. The former record of 1 hour, 18 minutes, and 20.96
seconds was set by Ramo Stott of Keokuk,
Iowa, at the Minnesota State
Fairgrounds track on September 6, 1965.

Irv Janey of Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, and
Fred Horn, also of Cedar Rapids,
finished second and third respectively. Both drivers held early leads.

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Hutchinson, Kan.
(September 20, 1966) - Don Brown, North
Hollywood, Calif.,
won both halves of the 20-lap feature race which concluded the Big Car racing
program at the Kansas State Fair, Tuesday afternoon.

The
race was cut into sections of 11 and nine laps because Dale Reed, Wichita, spun out on the turn
three curve on that 11th lap, and came to a stop with his car broadside in the
track. Reed got out of there as if on an ejector seat to escape the hot oil
spurting in the cock pit. However he suffered only minor burns.

Brown
was ahead of Harold Leep, Wichita,
by two car lengths when the drivers were red flagged to a halt, Lloyd Beckman, Lincoln, Neb.
was a close third. Gordon Woolley, Waco,
Tex., was fourth and Grady Wade, Wichita fifth.

Less
fortunate was Kenny Wines, Kokomo,
Ind., who lost a right rear wheel
when running in the semi-final. Wines’ car skidded to the concrete wall at the
head of the straightaway. The rear axle, sliding on the ground, clipped a
corner post flipped the car's transmission to one side, pinning Wines' left
leg. Wines was rushed to the nearby hospital. He was given first aid treatment
and dismissed. He returned in time to see the “A” feature.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Hutchinson,
Kan. (September 17, 1968) - Roy Bryant, Wichita, well known to Hutchinson fans
for his modified jalopy racing, captured the feature event in the speedway type
car races at the Kansas Fair Tuesday, and with it the point championship of Big
Car Racing Inc. for the season.

Bryant was second to Chuck Kidwell, Lincoln, Neb.
in the point standings before the race, but Kidwell finished far back in the
pack and Bryant grabbed 210 points for a winning finish, giving him a season
total of 457 points to Kidwell's 385.

The 20-lap feature was strictly a three-car battle from the
start, with Bryant and Dick Sutcliffe, Kansas
City, Mo., dueling
continuously for the lead with David Ross of Jetmore a steady third. All other
cars were far behind. Sutcliffe had a narrow lead most of the race, but on the
17th lap he hit turn three a bit too fast, skidded wide into the soft dirt, and
Bryant shot past him on the inside.

Bryant also had the best time in the trials, with a snappy
23.79. And he was winner in the four-lap trophy dash.

Dale Reed, Wichita,
had a 100-yard lead with less than two laps to go in the consolation race when
he blew his engine. Reed, starting third in the race, took over the front spot
on the third lap and was steadily gaining ground when the engine quit and he
rolled to a stop in the infield. Ralph Parkinson, Wichita Falls, Tex.,
was the race winner.

David Ross, Jetmore and Jan Opperman, Des Moines locked in a spirited duel for
first in the third heat race, and it appeared one or the other would be a sure
winner. They were running side by side into the third turn on the last lap, but
built up too much speed on the back stretch and skidded wide as they started
the turn.

Gordon Woolley, holding third place on a tight inside
position, shot through the gap to capture the race.

Larry Dewell, Fowler, made his debut as a big car driver in
the second heat race, but the gears went out on his car in the fourth lap and
he was forced to drop out of the race. Harold Leep, Wichita, blew an engine in the third heat
race.

The second heat race provided the most excitement. Al
Bodenhammer, Raytown, Mo., skidded too wide on the fourth turn,
and bounced against the wall. However he managed to right the car and keep
going for a last place finish.

Roger Lane,
Blue Springs, Mo.,
wasn't as fortunate. He spun out on the first turn, and finally came to a stop,
against the wall and heading the wrong way on the track. The race was
re-started.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Richard Brickhouse enjoys the spoils of victory after winning the Talladega 500

Talladega, Ala. (September 16, 1967) - Richard Brickhouse, driving a borrowed 1969 Dodge Daytona Charger, charged through the final 26 miles of the boycotted Talladega 500 Sunday to win the inaugural Grand National race at Alabama International Motor Speedway, which most drivers found so dangerous they refused to race.

Brickhouse, of Rocky Point, S. C.,
stepped into the purple twin "T" tailed car when a driver boycott
took virtually every star on the big stock circuit out of the race Saturday.
His average speed was 153.778 miles per hour over the 2.66-mile, high-banked
tri-oval.

Brickhouse charged past Jim
Vandiver, Charlotte, N. C., on the 77th lap of the 188 lap chase, turned on the
steam, and took the checkered flag for his first victory in Grand National
competition and a $24,550 payday.

Although the driver boycott called
by NASCAR's professional Drivers Association limited the field to only a few
cars which could have won the race barring accidents, the entire 500 miles was
a dogfight between Brickhouse, Vandiver, the second place finisher, Ramo Stott,
Tiny Lund and Bobby Isaac.

The car Brickhouse drove belonged
to Ray Nichels and Paul Goldsmith. Goldsmith is a former Grand National Star.
Stott, Keokuk, Iowa, a driver on the ARCA circuit, was third in a 1969 Dodge
and, Isaac, Catawba, N. C., was fourth in the race's other airfoil-equipped
Dodge Daytona.

Although the drivers had been told
by the tire companies that they would not furnish tires for speeds of more than
190 mph, Brickhouse turned better than 195 over the final laps. "We got
our tire tests in on those last laps" an official of one tire firm said.

One of the things that triggered
the driver boycott was belief by drivers that tires built for the track were
not safe. The tires Brickhouse ran, however, had never been adequately tested,
tire men said.

"That was just great, just
great," Brickhouse said as his car pulled into victory lane, the first
time Chrysler has been in the winner's circle on a major superspeedway this
year.

In the battle to claim the first
Talladega crown, Brickhouse, Vandiver, Isaac, Stott, Lund and Dr. Don Tarr
seesawed back and forth into the lead 35 times. During most of the race, the
top cars were in the same lap - running two and three abreast at times.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Dayton,
Ohio (September 15, 1963) - An overflow crowd of 8,501 fans, the biggest since
1958, watched Sunday as Indianapolis mechanic Keith Ploughe roared into the
lead on the 361st lap and then held it for record victory in the 11th edition of
the Dayton 500 late model stock car race.

Ploughe
scorched the distance in 3 hours, 15 minutes and 5.5 seconds to better the
all-time mark of 3 hours, 25 minutes and 6 seconds set in 1958 by Nelson Stacy
of Cincinnati.

It
was the first race the 32-year-old diesel mechanic ever won in a late model
stock car, and the effort was worth $2,075 to him. Virgil Barbe of Detroit finished in the
runner-up position, almost 13 seconds behind Ploughe. Virgil Stockton of Melvindale, Mich., was third
followed by Mike Klapak of Warren,
Ohio.

Ploughe
lead footed his 1963 Ford to the win from the 18th and last row of the starting
grid.

Only
10 laps of the 370-mile race were run under the caution light in the almost
accident-free event. The Dayton
500 was the next-to-last Midwest Association for Race Cars (MARC) go of the
season.

Two
former winners of the grueling race had to withdraw because of mechanical
problems. Homer Newland of Detroit,
the 1961 winner, had completed 369 laps when the radiator of his car fell
against the engine fan. Jack Shanklin, the 1957 winner, went out after 286 laps
when his radiator went dry.

Jack
Bowsher of Springfield, Ohio, the current MARC champion, failed to finish when
his engine threw a tie rod in the 361st lap while he lead for the third time.

Friday, September 11, 2015

Des Moines, Iowa - Jack Dan "JD" Housby was born in Des Moines, Iowa on January 10, 1935 and he passed away on September 10, 2015 at 80.Jack, a lifelong resident of Des Moines attended East High School and worked at the Orville Lowe Ford dealership where he met his wife Shirley in 1955. Mr. Lowe became a key mentor and was supportive of his entrepreneurial ambition.In 1957 Jack became self-employed and opened a truck and car washing business. Two years later in 1959 he expanded his business into heavy duty truck repair, painting and towing.Jack became the Mack Truck dealer for Central Iowa in 1969. Housby Mack became and still remains one of the largest Mack Truck dealerships in the country. The Housby Truck operation expanded to Charlotte, North Carolina, Carroll, Iowa and now also includes the Isuzu Truck dealership.As the founder of Housby Mack, Jack was also the inspiration behind the other Housby Companies. His ambition, work ethic and integrity established the core values of the Housby organization. Jack took pride in having many long term employees as well as having several start their own successful dealerships.Jack was highly active in motorsports. He was a car owner/sponsor in both the NASCAR, INDYCAR and USAC Stock Car Series as well as supporting racing throughout the State of Iowa. Jack was on the NASCAR National Motorsports Appeal Panel and was on the board of directors and past president of the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame & Museum Foundation.Jack enjoyed work, family, racing and fishing - he worked hard and he had fun.Jack is survived by his wife of 60 years, Shirley; sons Kevin, Kelly and Mike; daughter-in-law Patty Housby, Paula Tursi and four grandchildren.

Lincoln,
Neb. (September 11, 1959) – Auto
racing fans got a lesson in how not to drive one's automobile Friday at the
Nebraska State Fairgrounds.

For those who went out expecting to see shiny late-model
cars in top condition were disappointed. The cars were of late-model stock, but
most of them looked like they had been passed through the ringer at the local
laundromat.

Appearance, however, is not what these cars are judged on.
Speed is important factor in one of these races.

Ernie Derr had plenty of speed and savvy on Friday as he
piloted his automobile to victory in the 200-lap, 125-mile International Motor
Contest Association (IMCA) stock car race before 9,000 race fans.

Derr, the IMCA point later for the season, won a fierce
battle with Darrell Dake for the top spot. The Keokuk, Iowa, veteran drove his 1957 Pontiac to victory, with
Frankie Lies of Wichita, in a ’58 Ford, edging the hard luck Dake for second.

Dake, from Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, drove a
1957 Chevrolet convertible and held the lead 144 of the 200 laps. He moved in
front on the first lap and kept it there until he went in for a pit stop.

Derr, who had stopped for a 10 second refueling job on the
59th lap, took the lead then as Dake was in for nearly 30 seconds. After that,
it looked as though Derr had won easily.

But a bit more drama was to come.

Derr, with less than 20 laps remaining, began signaling for
a pit stop. He was out of oil. Dake was close enough he might have had time to
catch Derr on the stop.

But Dake’s luck ran out. Just before Derr pulled in, Dake's
car locked in gear, throwing him into a spin on the first turn. With the yellow
flag out to rescue Dake, Derr took his pit stop in an easy manner.

Dake got rolling again, but had to stop once more on the
197th lap for gas, having taken only a light load earlier, and Lies moved past
for second.

Derr’s waiting time was two hours, 11 minutes, and 38.44
seconds. This included several laps run under the yellow flag in the early
stages, when the big 25-car field was being chopped down.

Preserving the history of Midwest Auto Racing

So much racing history has been made through the years right here in the Midwest.

From the rich dirt ovals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska to the paved short tracks in Minnesota and Wisconsin, some of the best drivers ever to get behind the wheel of a race car competed right here in the heartland.

We all have our own story to share about our favorite driver who thrilled us everytime they rolled onto the track or that one particular race that still stands out as the greatest they ever saw.

We'll go back in history, 10, 20, 30, 40, even 50 years ago (even more) and reminisce about what has made racing in the Midwest so special for us.